It’s 3:00 A.M. and I want to sleep. My brain has other plans. I’m so tired but my brain is in overdrive.It seems as though we live in and control just a part of our brain, while another part does what it pleases. It’s a battle of wills. I want to sleep. My brain has other plans. What does it want at 3:00 A.M.? To create? To contemplate? To rehash the days experiences?

Where do our 3:00 A.M. thoughts go if not captured in conscious thought? Are they still there or do they dissipate forever? In to thin air. Will problems be solved to be revealed as the days and weeks progress? Is 3:00 A.M. the only time our conscious mind can truly free associate.

If we cheat ourselves of sleep, where do our dreams go? Are they lost in the grey matter never to serve their purpose? Do they disrupt our consciousness trying to find their connections? Or are they compressed, biding their time, waiting until our next slumber to re-invent themselves? To express themselves. I’ve dreamt of flying. I’ve dreamt of dying. Just dreams.

When we sleep are we still us? Is our consciousness still active or are we surrendered to our subconscious?

More often than not our brain asserts its control. It is in charge. It is a bully. Making decisions for us without our consent. Making sense of the world we live in and how we respond to it. We’re just along for the ride. Bystanders. It’s a battle of wills.

Where do we reside? In our bodies? In our thoughts? Or somewhere unknown? Are our thoughts virtual or are they real, tangible, physical?

When we die our brain dies but do we transcend the body to a place beyond the physical? Have we been there all along taking up temporary residence in the physical?

On average, we spend 218,880 hours of our life sleeping, or trying to sleep. That’s 9,120 days that our brains have free run of the house unencumbered by the boundaries of the physical world. Resolved to contemplate and integrate our daily thoughts and experiences with an ever expanding database of past thoughts, experiences, and emotions. A virtual playground. Doing what it pleases. Without regard. Without consent.

Robin Williams showed us what people can be and how we should treat each other. He opened his soul and we laughed and we cried. His genius was his humility and his humanity. His demons were our blessing. We saw the sun burn bright orange and then dissapear. Its beauty everlasting.